Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a sad day, to have to speak about the lives of two such great parliamentarians and great Australians. I rise to speak about former senator Barney Cooney. He really was one of the great men of the Australian Labor Party.

We've been talking about Paul Neville. Barney Cooney, like Paul, was absolutely thoroughly decent, hardworking, principled, with wonderful values, and respected across the parliament. He was one of the greats. He was a natural senator. He was absolutely across the detail of any legislation. He dealt with it calmly, methodically and in a collegiate way; that's one of the reasons he was so well respected by people on the other side of the parliament. He was kind and he was warm. I first knew him when I was a staffer working for former senator Bruce Childs. After I was elected to the parliament, the way that he treated me didn't change at all. He treated every person he encountered in a respectful way, with kindness and consideration.

His Labor values were formed by his Catholic faith, his commitment to social justice and his work in the legal profession—mostly around industrial relations and workers' compensation law. You could tell by the issues that he chose to champion throughout his time here as a senator how important he thought individual rights and liberties were as well. He was always so concerned to ensure that laws didn't intrude on people's lives any more than they needed to.

His role in the Victorian Labor Party was particularly important because he was one of that generation who really had to work very hard to heal the split in the Victorian Labor Party and in the Labor Party more generally. He, with John Button, John Cain and Michael Duffy, really helped to modernise the Victorian Labor Party as well. It was his work in healing the rifts and modernising the Labor Party that allowed the state electoral victories that followed in Victoria and the contributions that the Victorian members of parliament who were elected to the federal parliament were able to make to subsequent federal Labor victories as well.

Barney was born into an Irish Catholic family in Tasmania in 1934. He spent most of his early life in the Mallee region of Victoria, at the tail end of the Depression. He spoke often about his earliest memories of working men, many of them returned soldiers from the First World War, going door-to-door in regional Victoria, knocking on doors and asking for food. He told the story of his mother never refusing a meal, never refusing to provide food for the people who knocked on the door, and of how very important it was to see that example of her grace and her generosity in the way that she treated the people who were asking for help. That kindness and that courteousness informed his entire subsequent life and the way that he dealt with people not just in this place but in his professional life as well.

Barney studied at St Kevin's Christian Brothers School in Toorak in Melbourne and then won a Commonwealth scholarship to study arts and law at the University of Melbourne. He was called to the bar in 1961 and he remained enrolled at the bar for the rest of his working life, including the time that he was here in the parliament, in the Senate. For more than 20 years, most of his legal work was, as I said, in industrial law and in workers compensation law, in personal injury cases.

It was through that work and at that time when he met his wonderful wife, Lillian, who was also a lawyer. He married Lillian and they went on to have five children. In 1980 Barney Cooney chaired an inquiry into Victorian workers' compensation, which resulted in the development of the modern WorkCover system. He was elected a Labor senator for Victoria in 1984 at the age of 50 and he served for 17 years, retiring in 2002.

As I said, I first knew Barney when he was a senator and I was a staffer, but I did serve with him for several years after I was elected as well. He and his generation were wonderful role models in the way they conducted themselves—in some ways, I would say, old fashioned in their courtesy—in the Senate and in the parliament. When he left the Senate, those who served at the same time from other political parties spoke at his valedictory in the most glowing terms. I encourage members to read the beautiful piece that former Senator Amanda Vanstone wrote about Barney Cooney in the Fairfax papers this week. She described a parliamentarian who was decent, hardworking and committed, respected by senators and staff alike. Amanda also described how Barney was often deployed by the Labor whips when they were in a tight spot.

I remember this myself. He could speak on any piece of legislation. If there was ever a time when we needed to talk for another half an hour or an hour, you could absolutely rely on Barney Cooney, first of all, to be across the detail and to be able to speak convincingly, thoughtfully and intelligently about the legislation that was before the Senate. You could absolutely count on Barney Cooney to be reliable, to be there when he was needed by his party and by his colleagues.

He was a very thoughtful but very strong advocate for a number of issues that he cared about passionately. It didn't matter whether those issues were popular; he spoke up on very many unpopular issues as well, on things that motivated him. It didn't matter whether he was criticising the other side or his own side; he was a very articulate critic of some of our own policies as well.

Barney never served as a minister—although I think many would say that he should have—but, over 17 years, he became the master of the Senate committee system, chairing seven standing committees. He was best known for the work that he did as the chair of the Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee. He took the role of that committee very seriously indeed. The role of the committee is to guard against legislation which would trespass unduly on personal rights and liberties. He was absolutely determined that the laws that we passed in this place would improve people's lives, not be a burden on their lives. He very strongly argued against the Labor proposal, in 1987, to introduce an Australia Card. It was a very fiery caucus meeting in which Barney Cooney spoke against his own party's proposition at that time.

Later in his career he was deeply concerned about, and a very articulate critic of, the Howard government's approach to asylum seekers and terrorism measures. His critique said that those measures were eroding human rights and setting the course for the further erosion of human rights as legislation continued to be updated. At his retirement, senators from all sides rose to thank him for his grace and for his commitment to our democracy. After politics, despite his illness, he continued to actively participate in the Labor Party, regularly attending branch meetings in Melbourne. He continued as a member of the Trades Hall Council's Literary Institute committee of management. On behalf of our Labor family, I send my deepest sympathies to his family—his wife, Lillian, his children and grandchildren. He truly was a great man, and we will miss him deeply.

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prior to starting here in politics, I came down to see—Ron Boswell invited me down. Part of the induction process was going to a place that I don't think anybody frequents anymore, called Holy Grail. Whilst at Holy Grail—before the age of mobile phones—there was a whole retinue of politicians from both sides; it was a sort of default club for people who were in politics. There was a gentleman waiting at the bar and I noticed he had the same name as me, 'Barney'. So I ended up—probably towards the end of the night, to be quite frank—having a discussion with him. That was Barney Cooney.

Being a complete novice to politics, I broke into song about the virtues of the National Party and the deficiencies of the Labor Party, and Barney listened to me reluctantly and let me run out of air, then said to me: 'I'm going to give you a little bit of advice. A person who has been in the Labor Party for, whatever it is, 30 years, is not going to change his views about the party he is a member of because some idiot has just cornered him at the bar.' He said, 'You're about to start your political career?' I said yes. He said: 'I'm going to give you some advice. You should work very closely with someone who has earned his stripes and is a great member of your party, and that is Ron Boswell. You should be taking advice from him and not thinking you have all the answers yourself. You should follow his lead and take instruction from him as much as possible. That would be a smart political move for you.' That brief meeting with that individual has stuck with me all through my time in politics. Once more, vale Barney Cooney. It says something about any person if they can talk to you for approximately 45 seconds of your life and what they say sticks with you forever.

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My admiration and deep respect for Senator Barney Cooney is immeasurable and I send my condolences to his family and friends. While I stand here with a deep sense of sadness, it is, however, Barney's contribution to Australian politics, his sharpened instinct for social justice and the generous guidance that he afforded me and so many others that stands out.

Barney arrived in this place with a resolute determination to ensure that the parliament delivered good government to the people of Australia. He understood that improving the integrity of our institutions through the parliamentary committee system was one very good way to make this happen. In fact, Barney spent most of his energy and resources as a senator of some 17 years in this place in the committee system. He chaired many committees and was steadfast in his view that the community was entitled to expect the best from the committee system. Barney always held that the Senate's committees played an important role in our government and he took seriously his responsibility to use that system to produce far-reaching improvements for all Australians. Barney once said, 'A true conscience is a reliable guide in reaching the right conclusion.' This, of course, was just common sense to Barney.

Long after Barney's departure from parliament, he did not rest. I point to his 2010 submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee of the Senate, in which he eloquently reframed a challenging legislative debate into a simple statement about values and what really matters: 'Legislation should be examined in the light of what is fair.' In a separate submission, to the Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills in 2010 about its future direction, Barney noted, 'My submission is aimed at making a great committee even better.' These statements, founded on values of fairness and working for the common good, sum up Barney's values and his time in parliament working for what is right and what is fair for the people of Australia. Barney exemplified Labor values and traditions. His open-hearted approach, buttressed by what might be described as a bolshie determination to achieve his goals, was irresistible and he brought out the best in all of us.

Barney was also a tremendous inspiration to me and helped shape the kind of parliamentarian that I hope I am. I thank him for that guidance. He encouraged me to seek preselection more than once and to keep chasing my goal of becoming a member of this parliament. He showed me how this place can make lasting change for the good in our Australian community. I recall particularly Barney's unceasing background work on the need to develop protections for whistleblowers. It was work that he had advanced while in the Senate and which, regrettably, had not manifested in legislation by the time he left the parliament.

He would often call me to let me know that I needed to get on with it, but his language was more colourful than what I've just suggested. He could not understand why, by 2007, when I entered this parliament, every Australian jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth had enacted whistleblower protection legislation for public servants. I did listen intently to Barney's advice. In 2008 and 2009, as the chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, I led its inquiry on whistleblower protection and, in 2009, I had the honour of tabling the report of the inquiry into whistleblowing protection within the Australian government public sector. That report built on work which Barney Cooney had commenced.

Barney's enduring influence on me did not end there. It took four more years for our Labor government to get to legislation but, as Special Minister of State, in March 2013, I was able to introduce and ensure the passage of the Public Interest Disclosure Bill 2013, which I know, because Barney called me about it, was a proud day for him. He said it had taken much too long but we had got there in the end. The bill, of course, strengthened protections for those who report wrongdoing in the public sector. I want to acknowledge Barney, not just for the help he gave me on the whistleblowing area and his encouragement generally in the work that I've been able to do in this parliament; I want to acknowledge Barney for his generous counsel and his legacy in that particular area of legislative reform.

As other speakers have said, the significance of Barney's contribution to the Australian parliament was immense; his readiness to support the most vulnerable people in our communities and his generosity were immeasurable. Barney was always ready to help, he was always welcoming and he was always there. Barney believed in a fair go and he will be greatly missed. I and the whole Labor family send our condolences to his family.

Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Barney Cooney and I became fast friends in the four years we served here together in the federal parliament. I would often meet him in the most unlikely place, in the gym, and I would receive long lectures and long advices about what Labor's policy ought to be. These long lectures and advices repeated what he told the caucus, being probably the most inveterate question asker in the Labor caucus between 1998 and his retirement in 2002 that I can remember. Barney lived in my electorate, in Shoobra Road in Elsternwick. His son Justin I know well, and Lillian as well. After his retirement, we remained fast friends on the telephone and sometimes meeting for coffee.

He was, as the member for Sydney described him, a very kind, warm person, with never a nasty word, even if you had political disagreements. I think the story that Amanda Vanstone told in the Fairfax press in an obituary for him was very typical of the kind of gentle but persistent Melbourne barrister that he was. There was a hearing where the Law Society appeared. He gently got them to commit themselves to how great they were and their commitments to this and that. He had a witness who he saw sitting at the back of the room who had been badly treated by them. After drawing them out fully, as a smart barrister would, he then got this witness to come up to the head table and asked them questions about what they'd really done to her. It was very, very effective, and it obviously impressed former Attorney-General Vanstone very much.

The commonality that Barney and I had was a very strong commitment to international human rights. The more I pushed that, the more he liked it. As I said, we became close friends. He was a strong supporter. I was very grateful for his advice. I was grateful for, as the member for Isaacs said, his counsel—his wisdom, his knowledge and, sometimes, his attempts to redirect you away from a certain course towards another in order to achieve the same end in a different way.

I will greatly miss him. I pass on to his family the condolences of my wife, Amanda Mendes da Costa, who served at the bar with Barney and also had great affection for him. Barney was a great Labor senator, a person who, as the member for Isaacs said, used the committee system in a way that few of the very ambitious people who aspire only to be ministers in this place ever understand. You can achieve things, as he did, through the parliamentary system, through the committee system. It's slower and it's more grinding, and you need to be persistent, as Barney was. But you can achieve things. He's a perfect example of a great senator, a great parliamentarian, who managed to achieve change for the better in Australia by using the system that he knew and that he'd perfected through his experience as a great Melbourne barrister.